Face-veil ban under vote in France

Senate expected to approve bill that outlaws the niqab in public places, amid concerns it would heighten Islamophobia.

14 Sep 2010 13:21 GMT

Critics of the bill to outlaw the face veil have voiced concern that it could heighten Islamophobia in France [EPA]

The French senate is to vote on a bill that would ban niqab or face-covering veils in public, a proposal that has sparked fierce debate in a country that is home to Western Europe's largest Muslim population.

Senators are expected to comfortably approve the bill, after it was passed in the lower house by 335 votes to one in July.

Critics of the proposed law hope that it will eventually be overturned by the constitutional council, France's highest legal body.

If implemented, women caught wearing the niqab in public places including streets, markets, government buildings, private businesses and public transport would be fined $190.

Men who force their wives or daughters to cover for religious reasons would face tougher penalties of up to $38,685 and a one-year jail term.

Concerns over Islamaphobia

Supporters of the bill insist it is aimed at integration, rather than stigmatising a minority group. Only around 2,000 women in France wear a face-covering veil, out of a Muslim community of around five million.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, has promoted the bill as a measure to protect Muslim women from being forced to wear the all-enshrouding veil, which he has described as "not welcome."

But some Muslim women argue that such a law would force them to stay at home so as to avoid showing their faces in public.